It is a conventional practice to fabricate Christmas tree stands of relatively lightweight, low-strength materials such as plastic and the like by employing designs which impart structural stability to the stands. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,733 to Sullivan discloses a knockdown Christmas tree stand comprising a base panel and a plurality of detachable legs which may be connected to the base panel in an interlocking relationship permitting the assembled stand to support a relatively great weight. The legs are connected to the periphery of the stand base by means of key-type joints in which a peg associated with each leg fits into a corresponding receptacle on the stand. The base panel of the stand is equipped with an upstanding tubular socket adapted to receive a Christmas tree base or the like. A plurality of rib members extend radially outwardly from the socket to terminate at locations associated with the receptacles of the key-joint connections between the base and the legs. The legs extend outwardly and downwardly from the base so that the base of the stand is held above the floor upon which the stand rests.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,963 to Dunbar discloses a Christmas tree stand comprising a base formed of a bottom pan member equipped with a peripheral rim which forms a receptacle suitable for containing water. The center of the base is provided with a cone shaped peg which extends upwardly from the bottom pan member of the base. The peg is tapered at an angle comparable to that of a conical hole which is drilled into the butt end of the tree to be supported upon the peg. The diameter of the peg near its bottom is greater than the diameter of the tapered hole in the butt end of a tree so that the tree, when in placed on the stand, is held off the bottom of the pan, thus rendering the butt end of the tree accessible to water in the base. The cone-shaped peg functions to support the entire weight of the tree and to hold the tree in a properly aligned vertical position. The outer surface of this peg is made uneven through the provision of grooves or ridges in order to provide a space between the conforming tree and peg surfaces to allow water to move upwardly into the tapered hole in the butt end of the tree. In one embodiment disclosed in Dunbar, the upper surface of the bottom pan portion is provided with ribs in the form of inverted channels which extend from the central peg out to the rim of the stand. The rim supports the stand on the floor and is provided with apertures that are adapted to receive screws to hold the stand in place. Intermediate each of the ribs on the upper surface of the pan are relatively small ribs extending downwardly from the underside of the pan which function with the upper ribs to impart rigidity to the stand. In another embodiment disclosed in Dunbar, the stand, while supported by virtue of the base member resting on the floor, is also provided with radially extending legs secured to the stand base by means of tongue and groove connections. In this embodiment also, the vessel is provided with radial ribs which add structural rigidity to the stand as well as providing support for the central peg.
A simple base formed from a section of a tree trunk with a hole drilled through the center is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,150,708 to Schlecht which also discloses a technique for the packaging and transportation of Christmas trees. In this procedure, a Christmas tree is frozen and then thawed out in order to increase the flexibility of its limbs. The tree thus treated, in addition to the simple stand described above, is inserted butt end into an elongated receptacle so that the walls of the receptacle compress the limbs of the tree inwardly against the trunk. After being transported to the desired location, the receptacle is then opened at the opposite end (adjacent the butt end of the tree) and the tree is withdrawn and mounted on the stand.
A somewhat more sophisticated packaging technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,720,055 to Morris. In this case, the tree is similarly packaged in a long narrow receptacle by means which grasp the tree at its butt end and draw it into the receptacle. The receptacle may be equipped with a cone-shaped member which functions to arrange and compress the limbs against the trunk of the tree as it is drawn into the receptacle. The butt end of the tree may be provided with a container containing a moist lining such as peat moss or sawdust in order to provide moisture to the tree while in transit.